Born in Jackson, TN and moved to Rich, MS as a young boy, Thomas 
Harris is Southern born and bred. Biographies place one of his homes in Rich, MS, (millionaires tend to have more than one home, right?) but my friends tell me he really lives in Dundee, MS; one county west of me. If I was to drop in, would he pour the iced tea or call the police to report a stalker? ;D
Mr. Harris wrote two of the most memorable suspense characters in modern history: Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, a whole chapter is dedicated to character names and their hidden meaning. Lecter sounds a lot like leech or lecher and starlings are scrappy little birds. What do you think?
Did you believe Jodie Foster's Southern accent in the movie, or for that matter Julianne Moore's? It makes my skin crawl to hear an actor hamming the drawl too much.
Black Sunday (1975)
Red Dragon (1981)
The Silence of the Lambs (1988)
Hannibal (1999)
Hannibal Rising (2006)
Red Dragon (1981)
The Silence of the Lambs (1988)
Hannibal (1999)
Hannibal Rising (2006)
5 comments:
i hope this doesn't reflect badly on me, but I LOVE Silence of the Lamb. But not the rest of the books that came after it. And he's Southern. Never knew that.
I didn't know he was Southern either until three months ago. I was at the dentist, when he mentioned Harris lived in Dundee. My mouth really dropped, b/c that is practically two towns over! I always wondered why Clarice had a Southern accent in movie. I haven't read any of his books. *head bowed in shame*
I knew he was a Southerner. His sister was my 9th grade Latin teacher, Mrs. Sanders.
And that was Clarksdale High School in Clarksdale, MS, 1988-89. Hmm, what was that lady's first name. HELEN! That's it! Helen. Phew! I feel better.
OMG! So, Melissa, what was his inspiration? Do you know of any unusual Clarksdale deaths? Anyone walking around with what appears to be a goat skinned jacket? Is there a tattoo parlour on the square?
Oh, and I'm so impressed you can not only name a 9th grade teacher, but know her by her first name! ;D
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